Of Fairy Tales and Grave Peril
by Vessa Blackheart
Summary: Nami is injured by a monster sent by the government in the middle of a blizzard! With poison coursing through her veins, a high fever, and the risk of hypothermia what can the swordsman do to heal her? Body heat anyone? A little oneshot for ZoNa fans!


Her limp body was carelessly tossed across the white field while the rest of her nakama were forced to look on in horror. She fell from the sky hitting the snow covered ground with a muffled thud. Thank goodness for the snow, or else her fall would've hurt ten times more. Her blue staff landed next to her still crackling with lightning. She reached a bloody knuckled hand towards it, shaking from the cold, fear, and pain. But it just seemed too far out of reach.

"Nami!" Her captain's voice pierced the air filled with anguish and rage. She could barely keep her brown eyes open anymore, but through blurred vision she could see long arms stretch across the foggy air and punch the one who'd thrown her. She saw her friend cross her hands in front of her chest, but never saw where she sent her arms. The cook ran out of her sight but Nami distinctively heard him shout "bastard!" Rough hooves suddenly touched her arm rolling her over gently on her back.

"Damn woman." Nami coughed sending small wisps of snow floating in the air. She wasn't exactly sure, but she swore she tasted the coppery tang of blood in her mouth.

"That's—no way to talk to me Chopper." Though she spoke the warning to her reindeer doctor the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

"Nami, I didn't say that." This voice was different than the insulting one. This one actually belonged to Tony-kun. Nami squinted her eyes together focusing her vision. She saw Chopper tending to the gaping wound on her abdomen, but there was a figure behind him. Green hair was visible behind the large pink hat.

"Zoro?" She whispered it almost in disbelief. Why would he come here to _her_ when there was a battle going on in the back? He didn't speak but instead remained behind Chopper silent as death.

"This isn't good, the wound is already showing immediate infection. Those claws must be poisonous. Luffy, Sanji, Robin! Be careful! Do not get hit by the claws! They're poisonous!" Chopper shouted to the others who were taking out the large monster, but their attempts thus far proved futile. This beast was sent by the Marines, they were sure. But where they had acquired it was puzzling even the smartest of the Straw Hat crew. Evidently the seven-person Straw Hat crew was proving to be a top contending pirate brigade and the Marines couldn't ignore their presence. Even first mate Zoro had a bounty which was almost unheard of among pirates. It was always the captains getting money on their heads, not the rest of the crew.

"Oi Chopper, is Nami going to be…all right?" Sanji yelled while dodging a ferocious swipe from the almost eighteen foot tall beast.

"Will she?" Zoro spoke behind Chopper, but his voice had lost all sarcasm and annoyance. In fact, Nami was pretty sure his tone held concern; concern for her well-being.

"She will, but she needs to get back to the Going Merry. I have several antidotes and herbs that she needs right away. Also, her skin is freezing. If we don't get her to a warmer place she could suffer from hypothermia or frostbite."

"I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good." Zoro spoke with an evenness he usually only regarded for scaring the ever loving out of his opponents. Chopper turned to face him and nodded firmly.

"We should go; you, me and Nami. Let the rest fend off that animal until we can bring the ship closer." He pointed to a small hole in the light snowfall to an embankment. The ship was a while away and if that thing chased them through the snow they'd be wiped out from exhaustion. Nami lay shivering while the doctor and swordsman spoke. Her head was hot with fever, but the rest of her body shook with chills. It seemed all of her senses were starting to shut down from the intense cold and injuries.

"Zoro…" His name was scarcely a whisper on the tip of her tongue, but he seemed to hear it over the battle and weather. His warm hands suddenly gripped her arms and she felt herself being lifted off the white fallen flakes. Chopper transformed into his Walk Point while the swordsman carried the injured navigator. "Zoro…?" Nami used the last bit of her strength to open her eyes wider and stare up into the face of the directionally challenged man. His dark eyes drifted down to her soft features and one of his eyebrows arched high. "Hurry…" It was all she could muster to say before passing out in his arms.

Blurry images filled the orange haired girl's head as she slowly cracked open her warm chocolate eyes. Though no snow was around her she continued to shake uncontrollably from the snow she'd been subjected to prior. Weather in the Grand Line was unpredictable but a sudden blizzard on a summer island even surprised Nami's instincts. Not a cloud in sight followed by a foot of snow was something nobody could predict. Though even with the chills running through her body, her forehead was on fire and sweating slightly. She could feel the damp beads of sweat gathering in her hair. It took quite a bit for her to even catch on that voices were speaking in the room.

"Her fever keeps going up, but the rest of her body is ice cold! I wouldn't feel right putting a damp rag on her with her other conditions!"

"So, she needs to be warmed up yet cooled down at the same time?"

"Yes, but the blankets aren't enough! I don't know what to do! Oh Namiiiiiiiiiii…" Even though she could not see, she could half imagine Chopper had tears rolling down his cheeks. It was a terrible predicament for her to be in. Her body had to be heated while her head needed to be cooled; but none of the solutions seemed to be working.

"Chopper, I have an idea but you're going to have to excuse yourself from the room."

"Eh? What do you have in mind?"

"Just a theory, but please go. Make more medicine for her to take, you said you were running low on the antibiotic." Chopper nodded in agreement, yet reluctantly left Nami's bedside. He didn't feel exactly right about leaving one of his patients, but he had to leave some faith in Zoro. The green haired swordsman closed the door after the doctor and peered down at the heavily breathing navigator. He shuffled closer until he was right next to her bed.

"Nami…?" His voice was low but he felt loud enough that if she was awake she'd hear him. Her eyes opened a bit wider and Zoro felt his mind go blank as he locked gazes with the most annoying woman he'd ever met. At this moment however she was one of his nakama who needed help in the worst way. But he couldn't help her with his sword fighting or brute strength. No, he needed to think out of the box on this predicament.

He placed the damp washcloth on her burning forehead but immediately saw the rest of her body go frigid from the contact. She was still freezing from being thrown almost half naked into the snow. Then came the difficult part. He pulled back the covers on her and, without warning or great care, he ripped the tattered clothes from Nami's body. As weak as she was Zoro was surprised when her hand slapped his stomach and her other attempted to cover her body, a deep blush flushing her cheeks.

"Zoro, what…?" But the words escaped her when he began to undress himself. Soon she found herself looking up at his bare, chiseled and scarred torso a look of seriousness on his face. His pants were the next thing to be gotten rid of and if Nami had the strength she probably would have bitten her lip. The man was absolutely gorgeous and it wasn't often that Nami saw him in nothing but a thing pair of shorts that he wore under his pants. She'd seen him shirtless from across the boat, but here he was in front of her within arms reach. Her heart was pounding quite quickly inside her large chest, but it nearly came to a halt when he climbed on the table next to her. "What…doing?" She turned her head to face him, but he continued to stare at the ceiling as he pulled the blanket around the two of them.

"Your fever needs to come down but your body needs to heat up. I heard that body heat is the strongest form of warming another, and the damp cloth I put on your head should help your fever." As he spoke he tried his best to have no waver or uncertainty in his voice. He was nervous about her condition for even as he lay next to her she continued to shake uncontrollably.

"Th-thanks…" Her hand found his but she was unable to give it a squeeze of gratitude. Instead, Zoro gave hers a squeeze of reassurance. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she felt just a bit warmer, but the chills continued to ripple down her spine as a light sleep consumed her.

It felt like only a few seconds passed when in reality it was about five minutes. Nami regained consciousness but immediately felt her heart seize up and fly up into the base of her throat. Zoro was no longer lying next to her but rather he was on top of her hovering. Their skin was hardly touching, but the heat between them was nearly sizzling. Nami was feeling much better now that the medicine kicked in, and the chills still lingered but she was able to focus on what was happening in front of her.

"Zoro…what are you doing now?" The swordsman arched his eyebrow and rolled his eyes slightly.

"You weren't getting any hotter…" An awkward silence erupted suddenly. "What I mean is, you were still shaking from the cold and I figured this would help you better." Nami was surprised by the fact that Zoro could actually come up with a plan, and one that worked! Everyone knew that body heat was the best way of warming someone up if they were suffering from hypothermia or frostbite. She just didn't know that Zoro actually knew that too.

On either side of her she felt Zoro's muscles tensing from holding himself up at such an awkward angle above her. Using her shoulders she pushed on his elbows causing him to lay on her completely. Nami tried not to smile when he gasped at the feel of her extremely cold skin on his. He looked at her incredulously to which she just shrugged.

"This works too. You don't have to lay uncomfortably, and it'll probably warm me up better. You know; skin to skin contact." Zoro looked down between them but gave her a stiff nod. He was fully aware that now their bodies were intermingled. Her pointing it out only made the situation more awkward. He laid on her half naked as a favor to help her feel better, nothing more. Yet, if it was nothing more why was he having such a problem with fully lying on her? He was also getting the feeling he was fighting the urge not to blush. Why was he feeling so embarrassed about this? It was his idea in the first place! "You okay Zoro?" Her words sliced through his thoughts.

"I'm fine. Be quiet." Nami's mocha eyes rolled in her over heated head. Zoro was back to being Zoro. They lay under the wool blanket for quite some time but tears soon welled in Nami's eyes. Zoro looked down at her dumbfounded, a vein in his forehead ticking slightly. "Oi, why are you crying?" He never knew how to handle girls crying; not Kuina, or Tashigi, and especially Nami.

"B-b-because, I'm still so cold." In fact now that Zoro found himself mere inches away from her face he could see her lips were still tinged blue, and the shivering never stopped. Taking his hands he rubbed the sides of her thin torso. The friction he was creating warmed her skin, but only faintly.

"Better?" She nodded but he wasn't convinced; the tears were still forming in her chestnut eyes. "Stop crying."

"I-I'm s-sorry. This has never…never happened to m-me bef-f-fore." Indeed back in her home on Cocoyashi it never snowed, and even when they were in Drum Island she was already sick and passed out for most of that journey. She'd never really been exposed to such extreme colds before, and on a summer island when she was hardly wearing anything for it to blizzard out of no where? The fates were against her.

"You're just cold, you'll get over it." Ah, the comforting words of Zoro. But even as he continued to lay fully on top of her and rub her ribcage, she still felt like she was on ice. Tentatively she brought her shaking hands up and wrapped the around the swordsman. His face naturally broke out into one of surprise, and Nami felt the tears stop flowing. She and Zoro always had a weird relationship, made even stranger by their current situation. They'd always had one of the strongest bonds since they were the first two members and had been around the longest. But even through being strong nakama Nami teased Zoro incessantly and held him in debt even though it was his strength and agility that always saved her from trouble.

In fact, as Nami lay there with the user of the Santoryou style she remembered all of the times he'd bailed her out. In fact, their first time meeting was him saving her. Nami had placed her hands around a lighted cannon wick so Luffy wouldn't get blown up. Buggy the Clown sent his men to cut Nami down, but Zoro stepped in saving her without even really knowing her. She remembered being speechless when he asked her if she was all right. From her position, sitting on the ground being saved by the mysterious green haired man, he'd seemed like a hero; one she could just see herself being rescued by and then taken away on a romantic getaway. Like a prince rescuing a princess from a dragon then marrying and setting off into the sunset. But after their initial meeting, Nami got to know Zoro and all those hopeless romantic ideas escaped her.

Even now, though he wasn't currently fighting or doing some other impressive deed, he was saving her; the damsel in distress. She would have frozen to death, or died of high fever had he not actually thought quickly on his feet and done what he was doing right now. Even Chopper had become overwhelmed with fear and panic and couldn't see what had to be done. Nami bit her light blue lip and stared up into the striking face that lay above her. He was handsome she had to give him credit for that. But most importantly, he was her best friend and she knew he would always be there for her to save her from the evil that was all around. Zoro was willing to put his own life on the line for her sake; and that was something not a lot of other people could depend on. And she knew she'd do the same for him if the time ever came.

"Th-thank you Zoro." The edges of her mouth broadened into a smile though her teeth still chattered relentlessly. Zoro returned her smile with his signature wily grin that he usually only reserved for enemies he was about to pummel. It was then in that instant that Nami felt the surge of nostalgic hopeless romance well up in her chest. Here was her hero lying before her keeping her safe and warm, literally. Her eyes dazed over in a sudden sense of longing and desire.

Zoro's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull when Nami's ice cold lips pressed lightly against his. Was this her way of showing appreciation? Because normally it was a swift punch to the back of his head and she should really have asked him before planting her lips on his. He'd never been kissed before by anyone and to have the navigator of the Straw Hat pirates puckering up to him was nerve racking. His mind was racing, but more so his body was heating up even faster despite his proximity to a girl on the verge of hypothermia. What marveled him was that she placed her lips on his and they were still pressed against his. This wasn't a quick peck of gratitude. This was something more and the fact that her eyes were closed was another indication.

The biggest surprise was when Zoro felt his own eyes flutter shut and he kissed back. Nami's arms which were still wrapped around him tightened even more. Zoro's hands traveled from raking her sides to cupping her iridescent face. Her lips parted slightly allowing Zoro to get a swift taste of her with his hot tongue. Their kiss was filled with something neither had experienced before: passion. Though she was weak and still chilly she kissed Zoro with everything she had, and he gave her nothing less.

When they finally separated they could hear voices on the other side of the door. Nami never had seen Zoro move so fast. He leapt off her and had his clothes back on immediately. Nami remained under the heavy wool blanket since she was still in just her bra and panties. They could easily tell the crew that she had to remove her damp clothing so her condition wouldn't worsen. The heavy wooden door swung open with a bloody Sanji leaping at her bedside.

"Nami-swaaaaaaaaaan! How are you feeling?" He gripped her hand and brought it to his puckered lips, but she pulled away at the last second.

"Sanji-kun, I'm fine. You're being too loud." Sanji clasped his hands over his mouth and nodded apologetically. Chopper entered the room along with Luffy, Usopp and Robin who was sporting a broken arm.

"Nami still needs rest and to take her medicine. Lucky I made more because it seems you've been infected too Usopp!" Chopper pointed at a wound on Usopp's forearm. The sniper immediately fell over holding his chest.

"I'm dying! Oh you bastards, why didn't you take care of the famous Captain Usopp better?" Chopper held a small red ball out to Usopp who ate it graciously.

"It's the antidote, go to your hammock and sleep." The long-nosed man crawled out of the room muttering foul words about a made up syndrome he was suffering from. Chopper escorted Robin to sit on a large chair while he tended to her arm. "It's not infected which is good, just broken."

"He broke one of my replicas so unfortunately I suffered from it too." The archeologist winced when Chopper's rough hooves touched her. Sanji immediately left Nami's bedside singing "Mellorine" to the dark haired woman. Nami rolled her eyes but her attention was brought to Zoro who was in deep conversation with Luffy. Luffy nodded and left but not before grabbing Sanji and pulling him from the room despite the young chef's protests. Zoro locked eyes with Nami one last time before leaving himself. Chopper set Robin up on another bed and gave Nami a second dose of her antidote remarking about how quickly her fever had gone down, but her body heat was returning to normal. Robin tilted her head to the side looking at the navigator suspiciously.

"What was that before?"

"What was what?"

"That look you gave Zoro." Nami felt her heart seize in her chest. Robin saw that? Of course she did, Robin was always seeing and catching onto things she shouldn't have.

"It was nothing, I was just thankful for him helping Chopper heal me." Robin's eyebrows both shot up in surprise.

"How did he help?" Nami cussed under her breath.

"Just helped bring my fever down, that's all."

"Oh ok." And the female devil fruit user laid back down on her bed and went to sleep, exhausted from the battle and trek through the blizzard. Nami soon heard Robin breathing heavily and the sound brought her into her own slumber where she dreamed of damsels in distress and green haired warriors fighting with three swords to save the maiden and ride off into a sunset, happily ever after.

**Just a T-rated ZoroXNami oneshot. It's a little cheesy but whatever. I wanted to end it like a fairy tale considering its title. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!**

**Vessa Blackheart.**


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